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I Had Contractor Visit Today

I had a contractor come out today. He spent over 3 hours here and about two of those hours were measuring and calculating my home. He went into the attic and crawlspace, inspected both the inside and outside units and did some tests on each. I was very impressed with not only his knowledge, but also at the end he was not pushing me to buy anything.

I was kind of shocked that when he ran the numbers for my outside unit, it came back as not only a 3 ton unit (I thought it was a 2 ton) but he also informed the unit was built in 1988 (My house was built in 1998) So I guess the builder slapped an old unit in.

The good news is both my attic (30-R) and walls (14-R) insulation was fine.

The interesting news in after all his calculation/measuring he said my current AC unit is too big and I should go down to a 2 ton unit. The current gas furnace is 75,000 btu at 80%. He suggested to downsize that as well to 60,000 btu and of course the more efficient 97%.

I know we can't talk price here, but I think I was given a very good price for a Trane 4ttr5024and a Trane XV95.

If he diid all that and you feel comfortable with the price and the company sign the contract. Could have also made a mistake on the year of the old unit if you post the serial number someone will know what year it is . The unit he is proposing is a very nice unit

If he diid all that and you feel comfortable with the price and the company sign the contract. Could have also made a mistake on the year of the old unit if you post the serial number someone will know what year it is . The unit he is proposing is a very nice unit

See below.

Originally Posted by udarrell

Did he do a partial home energy efficiency audit; sounds like he knows how to test the Btuh output of the A/C system, something most Techs need to learn to do for the customer.

I'd say he is well above most in his skill level with an attitude that we like to see, without the high pressure selling routine...

He left you a better informed much more knowledgeable person; that can be worth a lot more than most customers realize...

Yes, I got a lot of education from this forum so I went in with my eyes pretty much wide open. This forum has been instrumental in my thought process.

Originally Posted by beenthere

Post brand model and serial number of your outdoor unit.

This is the informantion he left me on my old outside unit:

14 years old
3 ton
SEER - 9.1
Model BRCS0361BD

Unsure of the manufacturer, thought Goodman or Airpro?

He said it was 15 years old, but then got a call from the person who did the search and came back with the built in 1988 and not 1998.

Sounds like you have find a good contractor that has done all the work to ensure the system will be sized proper for your home.

If he impressed you with his knowledge of the system, ductwork and is sure the new systems that he quoted will provide you with the comfort you want. Then i would suggest sign the contract but make sure that it is a detailed estimate explaining what all he and his company will do for $$$$.

If you do seek out other estimates make sure the other contractors do all the work to determine the proper size system for your home!

Any contractor can cut his price to get the work but did he truly earn your business? If he goes off what the contractor you were impressed with load cal. Then the other companies can easily cut the price as they didn't spend time doing all there homework. So they can cut his price down because they used his info. To do so!

Again if he impressed you, is 100% sure his equipment will deliver the comfort you seek and backs it up with a detailed load cal. And proposal then I would choose that company.